Chapter 300 - 288: Jade Slip
Chapter 300: Chapter 288: Jade Slip
The steward of the Records Office was Steward Wang, a gaunt, white-haired elder.
When Zhao Lin walked in, he was engrossed in an ancient book, occasionally taking a leisurely sip of fragrant tea from his side.
Hearing footsteps, Steward Wang glanced up. Seeing a young disciple from the Spirit Dao Institute, he paid him no more mind and went back to his book.
Zhao Lin knew that anyone in charge of a place like the Records Office must be trusted by the institute’s head. Unbothered by the man’s attitude, he cupped his hands and said, "Greetings, Elder Wang. I am Zhao Lin, a disciple of the Spirit Dao Institute, here to collect my merit points."
Steward Wang, who had been sullen, immediately broke into a smile.
Although he only looked to be in his fifties or sixties, his actual age was over ninety.
Before he began cultivating, he had been a scholar in the Han Red Realm who had repeatedly failed the imperial examinations. In his pursuit of an official position, he had spent his days poring over the classics, which made his temperament somewhat pedantic.
Even after many years of cultivation, he still placed great importance on mortal etiquette.
The disciples from the Spirit Dao Institute who had come the day before yesterday had all called him "Senior Brother," which had greatly annoyed him.
’In the mortal world, the grandfathers of these youths would probably be a generation younger than me, yet they have the gall to so casually call me Senior Brother?’
’Where is the proper respect for one’s elders!’
Needless to say, he had given those impolite youngsters a hard time.
Zhao Lin’s form of address, however, satisfied him greatly.
Steward Wang said with a broad smile, "Young friend, you’re here to collect your merit points, are you?"
He disliked it when young disciples called him Senior Brother, but when Zhao Lin addressed him as Elder Wang, he was willing to lower his own status to show a bit of warmth. Such were the subtleties of human nature.
Zhao Lin was slightly taken aback. ’Didn’t I just say I was here for my merit points?’ he thought. ’Why is he asking again? And his sudden change in attitude, from aloof to friendly, is rather strange.’
Nevertheless, he replied, "That’s right. I’ll have to trouble you, Elder Wang."
"No trouble, no trouble at all."
Steward Wang waved his hands repeatedly. "Please wait a moment. Don’t just stand there, have a seat!"
As he spoke, he took out a wooden box from a nearby cabinet, rummaged through it for a moment, and produced two pieces of jade—one green and one red.
The two jades were the same size, three inches long and two inches wide, slightly smaller and thinner than a Spirit Stone.
Zhao Lin took the jades and paused, stunned. ’I came to collect merit points,’ he thought. ’Why did he give me two pieces of jade?’
Seeing his confusion, Steward Wang laughed. "These are jade slips. This must be your first time seeing them, young friend..."
He then began to explain amiably.
In truth, Zhao Lin had been in the sect for over half a year and was already clear on many things. Of course he knew what jade slips were; he just had never seen one before.
Hearing Steward Wang’s words, he now understood what he was holding.
Jade slips were similar to Spirit Stones, in that they were a special type of jade. However, instead of storing Spiritual Qi, they stored spiritual consciousness.
By embedding a specific Array within a jade slip, one could transform spiritual consciousness into text or even images.
Jade slips could be thought of as the books of the Cultivation Realm. They could be used to pass down cultivation methods, record a cultivator’s insights, or simply serve as notepads.
Compared to books, jade slips could hold far more information, were more convenient, and their contents could be easily copied from one to another.
Besides ordinary jade slips, there were also "True Intent Jade Slips," which could record more complex information like sounds and moving images.
"Why are there two jade slips?"
Zhao Lin didn’t rush to inspect them, asking the question first.
"The red jade slip is also called a Body Stone. Your merit points are recorded in it. The green one is for your own use."
Steward Wang said with a gentle smile, "As for how to use it, you’ll know once you try, young friend."
A little curious, Zhao Lin immediately sent a wisp of his Divine Sense into the green jade slip.
As his Divine Sense entered, he immediately saw a long, narrow space, like an unrolled scroll. Every foot or so, a vertical line divided the scroll into multiple "pages."
Zhao Lin knew this wasn’t a real space and couldn’t be used to store items; it was merely an illusory projection created by the Array to make it easier for cultivators to read.
With a thought, he used his Divine Sense to write on the first page: Xuanyuan Continent.
Sure enough, the words immediately appeared on the jade slip. With another thought, he erased them. It was quite magical.
Zhao Lin then tried drawing a small bird. The image formed as he willed it, looking even better than what he could normally draw with a brush.
"Interesting."
In front of a stranger, Zhao Lin didn’t want to linger for too long. He put down the green jade slip and picked up the red one.
As his Divine Sense entered, a block of text met his eyes: "Zhao Lin, Martial Cultivator from the Han Red Realm, entered the sect in the year of Renyin. Mid-grade Spiritual Root, age thirty-one at time of entry..."
"Total Merit Points: 103."
Zhao Lin instantly understood. This jade slip was essentially his personal file. As long as he was in the Chenghua Sect, no matter where he went, he could present this slip, and the local steward would know his identity.
He tried to write on it but found the jade slip completely unresponsive. It seemed only the sect could modify it using a Secret Technique.
Steward Wang warned, "These jade slips are important. Be sure to keep them safe, especially the Body Stone. Whatever you do, don’t lose it."
"To prevent someone from picking it up and impersonating you, remember to bind it with your blood when you get back, young friend."
"Thank you for the reminder, Elder Wang."
As he was about to leave, Zhao Lin suddenly thought of something. "Elder Wang, may I ask, can merit points be exchanged for Spirit Stones?"
The Spirit Cultivation Map consumed a huge amount of resources to analyze magic; a single consummate skill cost over a thousand Spirit Stones. Zhao Lin was still in his apprenticeship and had no way to earn Spirit Stones.
Although merit points were important, as long as he improved his magic, he could earn even more points in the future. Exchanging a small amount now wasn’t out of the question.
Steward Wang raised an eyebrow. "Merit points can be exchanged for anything, so Spirit Stones are naturally an option. However, one merit point only gets you five Spirit Stones."
"That’s it?" Zhao Lin asked in surprise.
Steward Wang gave a dry chuckle. "That’s why no one is willing to trade their merit points for Spirit Stones."
"This rule was established when the sect was first founded. Back then, Spirit Stones were rare and quite precious, hence the low exchange rate."
"Now that Spirit Stone production has increased, no one is willing to part with their merit points for them, but no one has suggested changing the rule either, so it’s just stuck around."
At this point, he added earnestly, "Use your merit points for anything, but don’t use them to trade for Spirit Stones. It’s a terrible deal!"
But then he added, "Even if you were to trade them, that’s not the way to do it."
Hearing the hint in his voice, Zhao Lin’s expression flickered. "Elder Wang, merit points can’t be transferred, can they? What do you mean?"
Steward Wang smiled faintly and said in a low voice, "Of course merit points can’t be transferred. But you can find out what other cultivators need, use your merit points to get it for them, and then have them give you the Spirit Stones, can’t you?"
It dawned on Zhao Lin. The method was simple once stated, but without someone pointing it out, he might never have thought of it. He offered his sincere thanks before leaving the Records Office.
...
「Early morning, at Thousand Steps Cliff.」
Zhao Lin sat cross-legged, beginning his usual daily cultivation practice.
He breathed in and out, circulating the energy through his meridians.
Just as the red sun began to rise, a soft HISS sounded from within his body.
Zhao Lin’s heart leaped with joy. ’I’ve finally broken through the thirteenth acupoint and entered the Qi Refining Second Layer!’
There was a small barrier between each layer of the Qi Refining Realm, and it had taken him twice as long as before to break through this particular acupoint.
Having broken through to the next layer, he could feel a distinct, albeit small, increase in the Spiritual Power within his body.
In the Cultivation Realm, Spiritual Power and Mana were often used interchangeably, but there was a slight difference between the two.
Cultivators absorbed Spiritual Qi into their bodies, converting it into Spiritual Power. When that power was used to cast magic, it was called Mana. The meanings were similar, so it was no wonder some people couldn’t tell them apart.
"My Spiritual Power has increased a bit. I wonder if I can bring my magic to the Minor Achievement stage now?"
Zhao Lin exhaled a puff of white air and slowly concluded his practice. He decided that was enough for the day and that he would try practicing the Rock Armor Skill later when he returned.
Although his cultivation speed was no longer slow after absorbing the Pipa Catfish’s Essence Soul—even catching up to many disciples with high-grade Spiritual Roots—Zhao Lin still felt a sense of urgency.
The reason was simple: his age.
Others were only in their teens and could afford to advance step-by-step, building a solid foundation. He, however, could not afford to wait.
’On one hand, I need to speed up my cultivation. On the other, I need to accumulate more merit points. If one Foundation Establishment Pill isn’t enough, I’ll get two. If two aren’t enough, I’ll get three...’
Zhao Lin had once heard a rumor about a small sect on an island south of the Chenghua Sect. That sect’s Supreme Elder, a Purple Mansion Realm expert, had an extremely doted-upon great-grandson with a Mortal Spirit Root.
With his own lifespan nearing its end, the Supreme Elder, in order to help his great-grandson reach Foundation Establishment, had not hesitated to empty a decade’s worth of the sect’s resources, misappropriating a massive batch of precious elixirs for his great-grandson to consume—including over thirty Foundation Establishment Pills alone.
Relying on these elixirs, he had brute-forced a cultivator with a Mortal Spirit Root all the way into the Foundation Establishment Realm.
However, his actions provoked widespread outrage. The sect soon descended into internal strife and fell apart not long after.
The rumor sounded absurd, and Zhao Lin hadn’t believed it at first. But when he asked Elder Wu, he was shocked to learn that it had actually happened.
This showed that no matter how poor one’s aptitude was, as long as one had enough elixirs, one could at least make it to the Foundation Establishment Realm.
’I don’t have a great-grandfather like that, so I can only rely on accumulating merit points to get my Foundation Establishment Pills.’
’It doesn’t matter how long the road is, as long as a road exists...’
He let his thoughts drift for a while. When the sky had fully brightened, Zhao Lin descended the mountain with the other disciples and headed toward the Spirit Dao Institute.
The Spirit Dao Institute was especially crowded today. Besides its own disciples, many cultivators had rushed over from other mountain peaks.
A rough count showed five or six hundred people present—it seemed most of the cultivators from Han Chi County had shown up.
The reason everyone had gathered was that today was the day the sect’s honorary Transmission Elder, Miao Kefa, was scheduled to give a lecture in the county.
When it came to Miao Kefa, he was a household name in the Chenghua Sect.
Although he was only at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer, he was the only cultivator in the entire sect who had mastered two Tier One magic skills to the Consummate stage.
Due to his poor Spiritual Root aptitude, combined with an accident during cultivation that damaged his foundation, even consuming various Spiritual Elixirs, including Foundation Establishment Pills, had failed to advance his cultivation any further.
Even so, Miao Kefa was awarded the title of honorary Transmission Elder by the sect for his accomplishments.
You had to understand, there were many elders in the sect—county-level elders and state-level elders—but Miao Kefa was a Sect Level elder.
To receive such an honor with only a Qi Refining Realm cultivation base was extremely rare throughout the sect’s history.
’Consummate mastery of magic... Excellent. You’re not leaving today until you hit me with your spells a couple of times!’
Standing in the crowd, Zhao Lin stared intently at the high platform up ahead, his thoughts a mixture of apprehension and eager anticipation.